BLM Colorado Hosts Student Art Contest (02-13-12)

LAKEWOOD, Colo. – The Bureau of Land Management’s Colorado State Office, in partnership with the Public Lands Foundation and the Center of the American West, will host a juried art contest for Colorado high school students to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the General Land Office.

The art contest is framed around an educational presentation covering the history of the GLO and the BLM and the role the GLO played on the development of the American West. The presentation is designed as a self-guided lesson that will provide background information and inspiration for the contest submissions.

“The General Land Office played a major role in the westward expansion of our country and oversaw the surveying, platting and sale of public lands,” said BLM Colorado State Director Helen Hankins.

Artwork may include photography, drawing, graphic design, video, animation, etc. Artists should include a written statement (250-350 words) connecting the artwork to:

• The value of public lands.• Your personal experience or connection to public lands.• How public lands are part of your family heritage and the role they play in your future.

All entries should be submitted electronically to gloartcontest@blm.gov by May 31, 2012. Submissions must be no larger than 5 MB in size.

The Center of the American West will judge the competition and announce the winners by July 20, 2012. Winning entries will be displayed at the GLO Symposium/Student Congress September 11-14, 2012, and will be featured on the BLM Colorado website.

Prizes will be divided into three categories with one winner in each category:

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM's mission is to manage and conserve the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations under our mandate of multiple-use and sustained yield. In Fiscal Year 2014, the BLM generated $5.2 billion in receipts from public lands.